Smaller parties based in and around Azamgarh have pledged to give Mulayam Singh Yadav a run for his money.
The Rashtriya Ulama Council, which originated from Azamgarh, says Mulayam?s attempt to collect Muslim votes will not cut much ice with the community and terms the decision an act of desperation. The Peace Party claims it is a serious contender and is not concerned about where the SP chief contests from. The Qaumi Ekta Dal of gansgter-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari may adopt a more conciliatory approach, as it has reportedly been trying to enter into some kind of understanding with the SP. However, it appears undecided.
RUC vice-president Tahir Madani The Indian Express: ?It is an act of desperation by the SP chief. He may be hoping for some damage control but has nothing to woo the minority community with. Muslims supported him in 2012 hoping his government would provide security. Instead he gave us 150 riots in two years. What happened to the talk of 18 per cent reservation for Muslims and Urdu middle schools in Muslim-dominated areas??
The RUC will contest at least four seats in UP ? Azamgarh, Lalganj (in Azamgarh district, reserved), Jaunpur and Machhlishahr (reserved). In the 2009 elections, the then three-month-old party had performed well here, polling over 50,000 in all four seats. ?We have worked hard these five years. These figures will increase,? said Madani.
Madani added the community has moved on since its youths were targeted for alleged terror after the Batla House encounter. It is now thinking about education and employment, the two fronts on which the SP government is widely seen as having failed.
Peace Party chief Dr Mohammad Ayub said: ?We are not concerned where Mulayam Singh is contesting from. In any case, elections are won on account of work done by a party for the common man. Merely contesting from one place or the other won?t cut any ice.? Ayub, MLA from Khalilabad, dislikes the ?small party? tag. ?We are the fifth largest party in the state. We have four MLAs in the assembly and we have already announced 46 candidates.?
For the QED, party leader Mohd Mujahid said, ?Obviously, if Mulayam has come here, it will have some effect.? There has been talk about Ansari (now in jail) contesting from Varanasi because of likely polarisation with Narendra Modi contesting from there.